In this 6 hour retreat-style workshop we’ll explore what it means to have a “Strong back and a soft front” in other words what might it look like to go through the world with an open heart and strong clear boundaries? Vulnerability researcher, Social Worker and best selling author Brene Brown says, “The most compassionate people I know have the clearest boundaries.” With Compassionate Awareness (mindfulness) in the forefront of our day together, we’ll practice the well researched exercises from…

How do we develop mindfulness and compassion in the midst of the world's contradictory craziness?” Join us to explore mindfulness and loving-kindness practices in demanding and challenging times. This First Noble Truth that there is suffering in our lives—seems to be even more apparent these days than not. We live in a world that encourages us to get away with as much as we can, while giving as little as possible. Some leaders and messages in the larger culture encourage…

Relationship can sometimes seem like the last frontier of spiritual practice. Because there’s so much that goes on inside when we're interacting with others, it's easy to lose awareness and fall back into old, unhelpful habits of relating. Bringing receptive mindfulness and wise reflection to our encounters is not only possible, it’s a deeply educational process that paves the way for significant positive change. This half-day mindfulness workshop will focus on improving our relationships by including them in our daily…

A sense of home or refuge -- an internal base that offers shelter, support and safety -- is vital in an ever-changing, unpredictable world. Buddhist teachings offer three universal refuges: Our own innate capacity for heart/mind awakening (Buddha), the refuge of practice and wisdom (Dharma), and the refuge of community (Sangha). Join us for a day of practice and exploration of refuge as it relates to our lives and our world. Is it possible to bring a sense of home and refuge wherever we may find ourselves?

Join ICD Founding Teacher, Larry Yang for this daylong retreat. Building community can seem like a worthy purpose, a high aspiration, even a wholesome ideal. But the practices of Mindfulness and Lovingkindness invite us into experiencing more than that. The Compassion and Wisdom of Mindfulness invites us into the experience that Community is not just possible, but that it is necessary for our spiritual growth and path.... and that it is, sometimes, a challenging thing to accomplish. Building community is…

A sense of home or refuge -- an internal base that offers shelter, support and safety -- is vital in an ever-changing, unpredictable world. Buddhist teachings offer three universal refuges: Our own innate capacity for heart/mind awakening (Buddha), the refuge of practice and wisdom (Dharma), and the refuge of community (Sangha). Join us for a day of practice and exploration of refuge as it relates to our lives and our world. Is it possible to bring a sense of home and refuge wherever we may find ourselves?

Meditation and mindfulness are everywhere: in hospitals, clinics, and schools; in major medical, psychological, and scientific journals; on TV; and in popular publications—even on the cover of Time magazine. And thankfully so—since Jon Kabat-Zinn developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a treatment blending meditation and yoga, it has been proven effective in treating conditions like chronic pain, stress, anxiety, and depression for sufferers around the world. Lesser known, however, are the deep philosophical roots of MBSR known as the Buddhist dharma,…

The focus of our day will be on individual meditation practice with minimal teaching or instruction. We'll alternate silent sitting and walking periods, eating meditation, and lovingkindness practice with some basic instructions and support. Please join Ian Challis, and your friends at Insight Community of the Desert as we co-create a supportive space for meditation and inner exploration. Note: If you are enrolled in the Solid Foundation meditation class, you are already registered for this event. Register Instructor: Ian Challis has…

Join Pablo Das at Insight Community of the Desert for this daylong retreat on the Four Noble Truths. The central message of the four noble truths is that every human life has an ever changing balance of pleasure and pain within it. Buddhist practice is a call to develop equal presence for the preferable and not so preferable conditions of our lives. In this series we will look at the four truths as much more than just a central Buddhist…